The Escape Artist Travel Podcast

Today’s guest is one of the world’s greatest living photographers. So, in this very special season finale, we’re going to look at travel through the lens of the legendary visual storyteller Steve McCurry. We’ll delve into the story behind the photograph that defined his career: the portrait of a young Afghan girl (Sharbat Gula) with her torn shawl and piercing green eyes that appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in June 1985. It’s one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century and easily one of the most recognizable magazine covers ever printed. The portrait is likened to a modern-day Mona Lisa due to her captivating gaze. Steve McCurry has captured many powerful and poetic photographs over an exceptional career that spans five decades. He’s devoted a lifetime to documenting the essence of humanity with a sharp focus on conflicts, vanishing culture and ancient traditions, as well as scenes from contemporary life. His long-held fascination with photographing far-off places began when he quit his job at a local newspaper and bought a one-way ticket to India. In this episode, you’ll get a snapshot of Steve’s most memorable travel moments as we hitchhike across the USA, pick fruit on a kibbutz in Israel, swim with sea lions in the Galapagos and accidentally spend the night in a Buddhist monastery in Ladakh. Of course, some of Steve’s adventures aren’t for the faint-hearted – he’s covered extreme weather events and warzones, survived a plane crash in Slovenia and got his big break as a photojournalist in 1979 after crossing the border into Afghanistan disguised as a mujahideen rebel. STEVE McCURRY’S CULTURE GUIDE Monsoon photo-essay in Life Magazine (1961) by Brian Brake DESTINATION INSPIRATION Ragusa, Sicily Philadelphia South Carolina London Stockholm Amsterdam Israel India Slovenia Afghanistan Chitral, Pakistan Peshawar, Pakistan The Galápagos Islands Ladakh, India Cuba Mandalay, Myanmar Iran For a real visual treat visit stevemccurry.com or look out for Steve’s brand-new book In Search of Elsewhere, which is a unique and brilliant collection of previously unseen images from over forty years of travel. Buy it here. You might also like to follow @stevemccurryofficial on Instagram. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com Thanks so much for listening to the podcast over the past few months. See you soon for more wild and whimsical adventures in 2021 for Season Two of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is British travel journalist and author Sophy Roberts. It takes a special kind of person to hear the sentence ‘the lost pianos of Siberia’ uttered in casual conversation and have those words ignite an obsession that eventuates in a three-year odyssey across the vast, white wilderness of Siberia in search of a piano. Sophy’s self-described ‘oddball quest’ is documented in her debut book The Lost Pianos of Siberia, which has been received with critical acclaim. Sophy Roberts is one of the finest travel writers of our time, having carved out an exceptional career as an editor-at-large for titles such as Condé Nast Traveller and Departures magazine, and a columnist for the Financial Times' How to Spend it. In recent years she’s felt a call to the wild, trading the glitzy hotels and glamorous getaways for a chance to tell untold stories from remote parts of the world, reporting on wildlife conservation, threats to eco-systems and fragile cultures. SOPHY ROBERTS’ CULTURE GUIDE The Road to Oxiana (book) by Robert Byron As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (book) by Laurie Lee In Patagonia (book) by Bruce Chatwin The Magic Faraway Tree (book) by Enid Blyton The Story of Doctor Dolittle (book) by Hugh Lofting The Secret Garden (book) by Frances Hodgson Burnett Sakhalin Island (book) by Anton Chekhov The Princess of Siberia (book) by Christine Sutherland DESTINATION INSPIRATION West Dorset, England Andalucía, Spain Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland Varanasi, India Ladakh, India Dal Lake, Kashmir Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan The Ennedi Desert, Chad The Happy House, Nepal (See Sophy's review for CNT here) The Orkhon valley, Mongolia Siberia (using Anton Chekhov's description: 'The plain of Siberia begins, I think, from Ekaterinburg, and ends goodness knows where’) Kamchatka, Russia The Altai Mountains, Mongolia Lake Baikal, Russia The Kuril Islands Taiga, Russia The Trans-Siberian Railway Socotra Island, Yemen Curious to know if Sophy finds the piano she’s been searching for? Visit thelostpianosofsiberia.com or you can buy the book here. Please support your local bookshop if you can! Independent bookstores are really struggling at the moment, let's keep them in business this Christmas!! You might also like to follow sophy_roberts on Instagram, she takes spellbinding photographs on her travels. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com Join me next week for the final episode of The Escape Artist Season 1! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest Rhiannon Taylor is one of Australia’s most sought-after travel photographers. With a keen sense of style and an eye for design, she’s been a go-to editorial photographer for glossy magazines for almost a decade contributing to titles such as Condé Nast Traveler, Gourmet Traveller, Time, Vogue Living and Architectural Digest. Meanwhile, her wildly successful blog, In Bed With, beautifully curates the most unique hotels from around the world. If you’ve ever scrolled through Pinterest and found yourself in a daze of dreamy hotel suites in exotic locations – you’ve probably come across Rhiannon Taylor. Name any extravagant form of accommodation and she’s probably stayed there - African safari lodges, fairy tale palaces in India, Greek villas, Italian villages and ranches in Texan cowboy country. Then add Hong Kong high-rises, overwater bungalows in the Maldives and luxury tented camps set in the Australian outback. She’s certainly seen her fair share of canopied beds, French freestanding bathtubs, infinity pools and buffet breakfasts. Just wait until you hear her pick for the most romantic hotel on the planet! CULTURE GUIDE The Darjeeling Limited (film) by Wes Anderson Murder on the Orient Express (book) by Agatha Christie The Great Railway Bazaar (book) by Paul Theroux DESTINATION INSPIRATION Melbourne Chin Chin, Melbourne Supernormal, Melbourne Pt. Leo Estate, Mornington Peninsula Jackalope Hotel, Morington Peninsula The Ghan Coober Pedy, South Australia Aman-i-Khás, Rajasthan Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan Taj lake Palace, Udaipur The Kimberley Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef Gibb River Road, Western Australia Hotel Esencia, Yucatán Cenotes, Yucatán Tulum, Yucatán Coqui Coqui Perfumerìa, Merida Istanbul, Turkey Bodrum, Turkey Roscioli, Rome Austin, Texas Lord Howe Island, Australia Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como Finca Cortesin, Casares Restaurante Sarmiento, Casares I thoroughly recommend visiting Rhiannon's blog In Bed With for a dose of escapism or keep up with the latest in boutique hotels on Instagram at @inbedwith.me If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is the tea-loving Londoner Henrietta Lovell, also known as 'The Rare Tea Lady’. Who, for the last 20 years, has traversed the globe in search of the world’s most exquisite teas. Henrietta’s love of loose-leaf tea was awakened when a highflying corporate job took her to the dazzling harbour of Hong Kong, where a single sip of oolong transformed her life. She was seduced by the extraordinary flavour and set out to revolutionise the way we drink tea in the West by starting the Rare Tea Company. Since then she has worked alongside the most celebrated chefs, such as Noma’s René Redzepi, Heston Blumenthal and Momofuku’s David Chang – who all seek her expertise in tea. Henrietta’s quest to source leaves directly from farmers and connect with tea growing communities has enticed her to estates in some of the most remote and unlikely of places. Pop the kettle on and make a cuppa because I can feel a rather enchanting episode brewing! DESTINATION INSPIRATION Copenhagen Noma, Copenhagen South West Scotland Hong Kong Fujian, China Sikkim, India Satemwa Tea Estate, Malawi La Paz, Bolivia Coroico, Bolivia San Pedro de Atacama, Chile Ryōan-ji, Kyoto Higashiya Ginza, Tokyo Claridge's, London Zealong Tea Estate, Waikato If our conversation has given you a taste for quality tea you can visit rareteacompany.com or uncover more of her stories in Henrietta's beautiful book 'Infused: Adventures in Tea' available here. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lonely Planet is a guidebook publishing empire that has shaped the travels of millions of people around the globe. Today’s guest is the founder of Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler. He has been described by The New York Times as ‘the trailblazing patron saint of the world’s backpackers and adventure travellers’. It all began when Tony Wheeler and his wife Maureen embarked on an overland odyssey driving a banged-up old car along the ‘Hippie Trail’; a popular route for free-spirits in the 1960s and 70s from Europe to Freak Street in Kathmandu. The Wheelers eventually arrived in Australia with only a few cents left in their pockets Little did they know when they set off, that their adventure halfway across the world would take them on a much bigger journey from printing the first Lonely Planet pamphlet ‘Across Asia on the Cheap’ in 1973 to building a multi-million-dollar travel publishing giant. TONY WHEELER’S CULTURE GUIDE Space Captain (1970 song) by Jo Cocker ("Once I was traveling across the sky, this lovely planet caught my eye") Arabian Nights (1974 film) by Pier Paolo Pasolini DESTINATION INSPIRATION Socotra, Yemen Karachi, Pakistan The Bahamas London Iran Afghanistan Freak Street, Kathmandu Bangkok Singapore Kuta, Bali Western Australia Paddington, Sydney Tehran, Iran Shiraz, Iran Iraq Siggy’s, Kabul, Afghanistan Pyongyang, North Korea Ashgabat, Turkmenistan The Falkland Islands Cartagena, Colombia Ciudad Perdida, Colombia Plovdiv, Bulgaria Antarctica The Himalayas, Nepal The Australian Outback Montevideo, Uruguay You can find more of Tony’s travels at tonywheeler.com.au If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest in Paris-based travel writer and bestselling author, Lindsey Tramuta. After studying French literature and becoming enamoured with the language, Lindsey packed up her bags and moved from Philadelphia to Paris in 2006. Lindsey contributes to The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Afar, Travel & Leisure, Bon Appétit, and Fortune Magazine. She’s also the acclaimed author behind the widely popular book The New Paris, which celebrates the creative movement changing the shape of the world’s most storied city. Lindsey’s recently released follow up, The New Parisienne, is equally illuminating, as she explores the women and ideas influencing the French capital today – as well as taking on the tired tropes of the idealized Parisian woman. After calling Paris home for 14 years and writing two books on the subject, you’ll be hard pressed to find an expat who is more of an expert on French culture. So fellow Francophiles, here’s your chance to explore Paris like a local and to get a real feel for the city beyond its grand boulevards, museums and monuments. We’ll cycle through lesser-known neighbourhoods, explore Left Bank bookstores and get a taste of the city’s evolving culinary scene. DESTINATION INSPIRATION Marseille Le Perche, Normandy D’une Île, Normandy 11th Arrondissement Bambino Le Mary Celeste Martin Canal Saint-Martin Ten Belles Holybelly Belleville Brûlerie Coutume 13th Arrondissement Belleville L'Homme Bleu Goutte d’Or Hotel de Crillon Shakespeare and Company Jardin du Palais Royal Jardin du Luxembourg Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore Treize Bakery Pantheon Boulevard Saint-Germain Institut du Monde Arabe The Grande Mosquée de Paris Bastille Boulevard Beaumarchais Merci Cafe Mericourt Helwayat Al-Salam, Bierut Beit Douma Baalbek If you loved Lindsey’s episode, you can find more of her refreshing insights into life in Paris and French culture at lostincheeseland.com You can purchase The New Paris: The People, Places and Ideas Fuelling a Movement here and her recently released The New Parisienne: The Women and Ideas Shaping Paris here. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is Wally Koval, the founder of Accidentally Wes Anderson (aka ‘the coolest account on Instagram’). The AWA Instagram account (@accidentallywesanderson) features photos of real-life locations that look like they could be part of Wes Anderson’s cinematic world. The director’s distinctive visual style makes him one of the most recognisable auteurs of our time – think of pastel-colour palettes, front on facades and perfectly symmetrical composition. Brooklyn-based Wally Koval, and his wife Amanda, started Accidentally Wes Anderson back in 2017 as a personal travel bucket list. Since then it has grown to inspire a global community of over 1 million followers (otherwise known as ‘Adventurers’). Now the team behind the viral account curate thousands of aesthetically-pleasing images and intriguing stories contributed by explorers, photographers, cinephiles, history-buffs and lovers of architecture from all around the world. Wally's brand new book has been given the Wes Anderson stamp of approval. The Accidentally Wes Anderson book features “200 of the most idiosyncratic and interesting locations on earth” and a foreword penned by the famous filmmaker himself. WALLY KOVAL'S CULTURE GUIDE The Darjeeling Limited (film) by Wes Anderson Rushmore (film) by Wes Anderson The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (film) by Wes Anderson The Grand Budapest Hotel (film) by Wes Anderson Moonrise Kingdom (film) by Wes Anderson Isle of Dogs (film) by Wes Anderson Hotel Chevalier (film) by Wes Anderson DESTINATION INSPIRATION Williamsburg Bridge CW Pencil Enterprise Casey Rubber Stamps, New York Gramercy Typewriter Co., New York Vanessa’s Dumpling House, New York The Jane Hotel, New York Delaware, USA Long Beach Island, USA Mumbai The Maharajas Express Ryoguku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall), Tokyo Vienna Clock Museum, Vienna Snow Globe Museum, Vienna Globe Museum, Vienna The Albertina Museum, Vienna Spanish Riding School, Vienna Bar Luce, Milan Fondazione Prada, Milan Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como Belmond Hotel Splendido, Portofino The Palace of Running Water, Buenos Aires Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore, Buenos Aires Port Lockroy, Antarctica You can discover more of Wally's one-of-a-kind adventures at accidentallywesanderson.com or purchase his wonderful new book here. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is Australian travel writer and author, Nina Karnikowski. Nina traverses the globe in search of wild, off the beaten path places and stories that promote slower, more sustainable ways to travel. Nina’s well-worn passport has no shortage of stamps as she has visited over 60 countries, travelling to many of them on assignment for Australia and New Zealand’s top publications. When she’s not on the road, Nina calls the bohemian heartland of Byron Bay her home. Her first book Make a Living Living features 26 creatives from around the globe whose wanderlust and words of wisdom will inspire you to live a life less ordinary and carve out a career doing what you love. NINA KARNIKOWSKI’S CULTURE GUIDE The ‘Ethio Jazz’ music of Mulatu Astatke Babies (film) by Thomas Balmès DESTINATION INSPIRATION Goonengerry National Park Minyon Falls, Nightcap National Park Cape Byron Lighthouse Fleet, Brunswick Heads Pipit Restaurant, Pottsville The Roadhouse Byron Bay Fendika Azmari Bet, Addis Ababa Lalibela, Ethiopia Ratua, Vanuatu Kunene Region, Namibia Skeleton Coast, Namibia Chuacruz village, Guatemala Riad Jardin Secret, Marrakech Dadar Flower Market, Mumbai Touch of Joy, Colaba, Mumbai Elephanta Island, Mumbai Regal Cinema, Mumbai Swati Snacks, Mumbai Abode Hotel, Mumbai Panauti, Nepal Bhutan You can discover more of Nina's thoughtful travels at travelswithnina.com or purchase her delightful new book here. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is award-winning food writer and restaurateur, Ravinder Bhogal. Ravinder is one of the hottest names on the British culinary scene. Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsay all sing her praises and literary great, Salman Rushdie, is one of the many fans you’ll find frequenting her fashionable London restaurant, Jikoni. Jikoni means ‘kitchen’ in Kiswahili – a name inspired by an idyllic childhood spent in Kenya. Her brand-new cookbook ‘Jikoni: proudly inauthentic recipes from an immigrant kitchen’ is a love letter to immigrant culture, celebrating dishes deeply rooted in her Indian heritage, Kenyan homeland, British upbringing and extensive global travels. RAVINDER BHOGAL’S CULTURE GUIDE Stealing Beauty by Bernardo Bertolucci (film) DESTINATION INSPIRATION Nairobi, Kenya Mombasa, Kenya Rosewood London Regent’s Park, London The Wolseley, Mayfair The Wallace Collection, Marylebone Daunt Books, Marylebone Cortona, Tuscany Trattoria Dardano, Cortona Syracuse, Sicily Mount Etna, Sicily Zelyoniy Bazaar, Kazakhstan Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, Mumbai The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai Beit Douma, Lebanon You can visit Jikonilondon.com or buy Ravinder's gorgeous new cookbook here. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is Yorkshire-born ballet dancer Xander Parish, who made history as the first British dancer to join the illustrious Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg back in 2010. He is now a principal dancer at one of the most famous ballet companies in the world and was awarded an OBE for his services, both to dance and British-Russian cultural relations. Xander’s life in Russia has a storybook quality and not just because St. Petersburg is a city of jewel box coloured palaces – his repertoire includes romantic roles such as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty’s Prince Désiré and our favourite star-crossed lover, Romeo. Xander’s insights into St. Petersburg offer a treasure trove of cultural delights. Beyond Russia, he has performed gravity-defying leaps in some of the most magical places around the globe. XANDER PARISH’S CULTURE GUIDE Swan Lake (ballet) choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Nutcracker (ballet) choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky DESTINATION INSPIRATION The Algarve, Portugal Yorkshire, England St. Petersburg The Mariinksy Theatre Yusupov Palace The Hermitage Fabergé Museum Sadko Restaurant, St. Petersburg Shapki, Russia Havana, Cuba Gran Teatro de la Habana The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens Positano Li Galli Islands (the ‘dance island’), Italy If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is one of the world’s most successful travel bloggers, Brooke Saward. Brooke’s journey began when she started documenting her holidays on her blog World of Wanderlust back in 2012. The adventures of the Australian-born blogger have been followed by millions of readers across the globe. Brooke’s travel tales will take you on a whirlwind journey from her quiet life in Tasmania to the electrifying city of Hong Kong, where she first caught the travel bug. Since then she’s visited over 70 countries and has relocated to Cape Town as a result of a storybook-style romance on an African safari. BROOKE SAWARD’S CULTURE GUIDE Cirque du Soleil (live show) Into the Okavango by Neil Gelinas (film) Out of Africa by Karen Blixen (book) DESTINATION INSPIRATION Tasmania, Australia Hong Kong Cape Town, South Africa The Cape Winelands, South Africa Chapman’s Peak Drive, South Africa Okavango Delta, Botswana Kalahari Desert, Botswana andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge Skybeds, Botswana San Camp, Botswana Stone Town, Zanzibar andBeyond Mnemba Island Danakil Depression, Ethiopia Simien Mountains, Ethiopia Hunza Valley, Pakistan Attabad Lake, Pakistan Fairy Meadows, Pakistan Nihiwatu resort, Sumba Island, Indonesia If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest launched an incredible culinary career from a tiny Parisian apartment. Rachel Khoo is a British cookbook author and TV chef who packed up her life in London to pursue her dream of studying pâtisserie at the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. In 2012, Rachel became a household name with her bestselling cookbook, The Little Paris Kitchen, but it was her hit BBC TV show that had us falling head over heels for Rachel’s vintage style, Parisian lifestyle and simple French fare served with creative flair. Numerous cookbooks and television shows have since followed. In the latest chapter of her gastronomic adventures, Rachel has bid au revoir to France and traded croissants for cardamom buns as she’s now settled in Stockholm. Her culinary journey takes us from the snow-capped Austrian Alps to deep within the Malaysian jungle. She also shares her fascination with Tokyo’s convenience stores and her love of long summer days spent foraging for cloudberries in the Swedish forests. RACHEL KHOO’S CULTURE GUIDE Amelie by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (film) DESTINATION INSPIRATION Shakespeare and Company, Paris Vienna The Austrian Alps Malaysia Paris Le Cordon Bleu Marché d'Aligre, Paris Tokyo 7-Eleven, Japan Stockholm Lillebrors Bageri, Stockholm If you’re interested in exploring whether going vegan will save the planet, you can find Rachel Khoo's new 8-part podcast series A Carnivore’s Crisis available on Audible. You can also keep up to date with her latest projects at rachelkhoo.com If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is internationally-acclaimed architect Bill Bensley. It’s very likely that at some point on your travels you’ve come across a hotel that was dreamt up by the innovative Bangkok-based hotel designer. Bill Bensley’s work spans over 200 resorts and hotels in more than 30 countries, and he is famous for his eclectic, extravagant and eco-conscious designs. His signature style features flamboyant flourishes, up-cycled antiques and lush gardens. Recently, Capella Ubud in Bali was named as Travel + Leisure’s ‘best hotel in the world’ for 2020, and his own Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild won ‘best new hotel in Asia’ in Conde Nast Traveler’s Hot List last year. He’s a self-described “wide-ranging explorer” and his travel adventures will take you from the bustling streets of Bangkok to the endless expanse of Mongolia. Be warned, you better buckle up for this episode, as we ascend to dizzying heights with a haphazard hot air balloon journey across Burma and a flight over Peru’s mysterious Nazca Lines that doesn’t quite go to plan! BILL BENSLEY’S CULTURE GUIDE Don’t Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk DESTINATION INSPIRATION Khao Yai National Park Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok Sing Sing Theater Yellowstone National Park Mongolia Bali Capella Ubud, Bali Four Seasons Koh Samui Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild, Cambodia Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle Myanmar Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto Hoshinoya Kyoto Antigua, Guatemala Newark Market, Newark-on-Trent Sapa, Vietnam Hotel de la Coupole, Sapa Rosewood Luang Prabang Peru AZULIK Tulum You can learn more about Bill Bensley's design portfolio, conservation efforts and philanthropic projects at BENSLEY. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm excited to announce that our very first escape artist for the inaugural episode of the podcast is the 'Queen of Scents', perfumer Jo Malone CBE. Most of us immortalise our favourite travel moments with a photograph, but my guest today captures the essence of a place... by bottling it as a fragrance. Jo Malone’s extraordinary sense of smell and passion for perfume made her one of Britain’s most iconic figures in the beauty industry. Her travel stories take us from the jasmine-scented streets in the South of France, to the spice souks of Dubai, the mountains of Montana, and Jordan’s ancient ruins. Jo’s breathtaking fragrances are directly inspired by her aroma-fuelled adventures all over the world. JO MALONE’S CULTURE GUIDE Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton An Elephant in my Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony Gustav Klimt's The Woman in Gold DESTINATION INSPIRATION Elizabeth Street, Belgravia Peggy Porschen Cakes Havana, Cuba Grasse, South of France International Perfume Museum La Bastide Saint-Antoine COMO Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos Mountain Sky, Montana The Neue Galerie, New York Hotel Danieli, Venice Dubai, UAE Thula Thula, South Africa Amanpuri, Phuket Jerash, Jordan The Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur You can visit the Jo Loves store online. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist! Xx Edwina (Music by the talented Giselle Rosselli) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Escape Artist, a brand new podcast for the culturally curious traveller. Each week, join Australian travel journalist and photographer, Edwina Hart, in conversation with a special guest who has mastered the art of escape. Season 1 promises an exciting line up of artists, tastemakers and travel insiders whose love affair with travel will transport you to exotic, far-flung corners of the globe. We’ll unpack how travel has influenced their lives and creative endeavours. Each episode takes you on an enchanting journey through the guest's most memorable travel encounters, as they share the destinations that spark their imaginations and the ways in which travel inspires them. Of course, I'd love to hear from you. You can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com. This podcast is pure escapism for those always dreaming of their next destination, so be sure to subscribe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.